The Debt 3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

from all sides.
    Raven looked at Jake and he was laughing,
his eyes were bright.  
    He
loves this , she
thought.   He loves the action , he loves the challenge .
    But nobody seemed angry, people weren’t yelling obscenities like she thought they might.
    Finally, when things got so bad that it
was getting hard to keep moving, Jake grabbed Raven by the hand and ducked into
a restaurant.   The place was nearly
empty, which was surprising, given its location.
    But luckily it was rather dim and dark
inside.   There was a huge bar and
plenty of tables surrounding it, with many TV screens showing different
sporting events on each television.
    A waitress caught sight of Jake and was
about to say something, but when she realized who he was, her mouth just hung
open.
    Raven turned and saw a crush of people
just outside the doors, many of them peering into the restaurant.   Strangely, nobody tried to come inside,
almost as if they thought they’d be told to leave.
    “Table for two,” Jake told the stunned
waitress, who looked as if she’d just swallowed her tongue.
    “Oh…oh… .sure .”   She grabbed menus and led them to a
booth in the corner.   “Is this okay?”
she asked, staring only at Jake.
    “This is great…” he peered at her name
tag.   “…Melanie.”
    A huge smile came across her face. “I
really love your movies,” she said, as they sat down at the booth.
    Raven sat down and Jake slid in next to
her, his hip bumping hers.   “Thanks,
Melanie.   That means a lot to me,”
he said to the waitress.   He grinned
and the waitress blushed.
    “Drinks?” she asked, still looking just
at Jake.
    “I’ll have a Ginger Ale,” Raven said.
    The waitress never so much as glanced in
her direction.
    “And a water for me,” Jake told her.   “No lemon, Melanie.”
    Melanie’s face was bright red.   “Got it, Jake.”   She turned and walked away from the
table, a tiny squeal coming out as she went to get their drinks.
    Raven watched her huddle with the rest of
the wait staff, obviously breaking the big news to them about who was in their
restaurant.
    Jake was unconcerned.   He drummed his fingers on the tabletop.  
    The waitress came and put down their
drinks.   They hadn’t even looked at
the menu yet.  
    “Any idea what you want to eat?” the
waitress asked.
    “What’s your best dish?” Jake asked her.
    “Oh, probably the Times Burger,” she
said.   “It’s our
signature—people love it.”
    “Let’s do two of those,” Jake said,
winking.
    Raven groaned.   “You don’t even know if I like burgers.”
    “Everyone likes burgers,” he replied
simply.
    “Yeah, everyone likes burgers,” the
waitress agreed.   She batted her
eyelashes at him coquettishly.  
    Clearly , Raven thought, we’ve moved past shyness and now we’re onto openly throwing ourselves
at the superstar.
    “Thanks, Mel,” Jake told Melanie, winking.  
    She giggled.   “I’ll bring you some nachos on the
house,” she told him.   “I promise
you’ll enjoy it.”   And then she left
the table.
    “Is this what girls act like around you
all the time?” Raven asked him.
    “Pretty much,” Jake said.   “It’s a tough life.”
    “Ugh, it’s kind of gross.”   Raven shook her head.   She couldn’t tell if Jake was showing
off, trying to get under her skin, or if this really just was normal for him.
    All she knew was that none of this was
normal for her.   Having Jake sitting
next to her, his body so close, acting like they were together, it was all too
much.
    Outside, a crowd of people had formed and
would be waiting for them when they exited.
    What kind of life was this really going
to be? She wondered.   Was she up to
it?
    On the television screen right above
them, Raven caught a glimpse of a news story about Jake.   There was the same kind of headline she
was used to seeing.   Jake Novak Under Fire , it read.   She couldn’t hear what they were saying
because the volume was down, but